Hunt for the Panther 3 (9781101610923) Read Online Free Page A

meeting, then get home to the crew.
    Dodging a pair of pirates stumbling toward her, she continued on, looking for the tiny clapboard house her father had described.
    Admiral McCray insisted on holding each of their meetings in a secret location—someplace the other King’s Men would never think to look for him. Last time they’d met in the cellar of a tavern, which was freezing cold and crawling with spiders. This time, however, he’d chosen someplace he insisted would be better: Voodoo Miranda’s house.
    It stood near the end of the street, squeezed between two brick buildings that looked like they might crumble if you shoved them hard enough. Scarlet paused outfront. Every window was dark, but that didn’t mean the voodoo queen wasn’t home. She was probably cooking up some potion that would turn an unsuspecting person into a two-headed lizard.
    Stop thinking,
Scarlet told herself again.
Just do.
She gathered all the courage she could find, stepped up to the rotting door, and knocked twice.
    Even though she’d seen Voodoo Miranda several times over the years, she still jumped when the front door swung open and the woman peered out, baring her crooked teeth. Easily six feet tall, Voodoo Miranda wore a long green dress that glimmered in the light of the twisted black candle she held. She had long, matted black hair that hung down to her waist, and her lips were painted a deep purple.
    But that wasn’t the worst of it. Coiled around her left wrist, like a big poisonous bracelet, was a shiny green python. Another snake, this one a striped viper, was nestled in her enormous hair, watching Scarlet closely.
    Scarlet took a hasty step back, wiping her sweaty palms on her trousers. She hated snakes, especially the small ones that looked harmless but could kill you with one bite. “Um. Hello.”
    Voodoo Miranda squinted at her for a moment. Then her mouth spread into a wide purple smile. “Come in.”
    She stepped aside, and Scarlet darted past into a room full of dusty furniture that probably hadn’t been used for years. There were black candles everywhere, and the loose floorboards creaked underfoot. Scarlet couldn’t help but wonder if Voodoo Miranda hid somethingunderneath them. Or someone…
    Stop!
she told herself. “Um, where am I meeting him?”
    “In the kitchen,” said Miranda. “This way.” She led Scarlet down a pitch-dark hallway into another room—this one lit by a single lantern. The kitchen was cluttered with bottles and jars of every size and color, and it smelled like long-dead flowers that needed to be tossed out. A small cloudy window looked out onto a dark yard.
    “Don’t mind my work,” Voodoo Miranda said, gesturing at some mounds of wax on the table.
    “Work?” Scarlet stepped closer. One of the mounds had a distinct human shape.
A voodoo doll,
she realized, just as Miranda snatched it up and tucked it into her pocket. Scarelt had heard sailors whisper that if you ever needed to get revenge, Voodoo Miranda could help. She’d whip up a little wax doll that looked just like your enemy in the time it took you to say “scalawag.” Then she’d stick little pins in the doll’s back and ears, and the unfortunate person would be keeling over in no time. Scarlet shivered, feeling invisible pinpricks up and down her spine.
    “Sit.” Miranda pointed to a chair, and Scarlet obeyed, finding herself staring into the eyes of a frog, floating wide-eyed in a jar of yellow liquid. When Miranda wasn’t looking, she quickly turned the jar so the creature was facing away from her.
    “Make yourself comfortable,” Miranda said.
    “Thanks,” Scarlet said weakly.
    “Ah. That’d be your father,” said Miranda.
    “Really? I didn’t hear anything,” Scarlet replied, but Miranda had already slipped back down the hallway.
    “Huh,” Scarlet muttered, peering into another nearby jar on the counter, which appeared to hold several hundred small green beetles. “What does she
do
with all this stuff,